A former Dean of the University of Aberdeen, the Rev. Dr. Iain Torrance, has today (Friday, March 11) been inaugurated as Princeton Theological Seminary’s sixth president.
In assuming the presidency, Rev. Torrance heads the first seminary founded by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA (1812) and the largest of the 10 theological seminaries of that 2.5-million-member denomination.
“I look forward as president of Princeton Theological Seminary to discussing many issues facing contemporary Christians,” said Rev. Torrance. “I hope this institution will continue to play a vital role in demonstrating the relevance of the church in America’s history and culture as it has for nearly 200 years.”
Rev. Torrance also hopes to help lead the ongoing conversations between Christians, Jews, and Muslims in their pursuits of peace and reconciliation.
“The interfaith dialogue among the world’s major religions is imperative to fostering an atmosphere of peace and stability among the nations,” added Rev. Torrance. “I believe an institution such as Princeton Theological Seminary can provide a venue for productive research and conversation in the relationships among Christians, Jews, and Muslims.”
Rev. Torrance’s inauguration featured more than 64 delegates from institutions of higher education including the four ancient universities of Scotland - Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and St. Andrews - as well as The Chapel Royal in Scotland, Yale University Divinity School, Duke University, and Howard University School of Divinity. Twelve ecclesiastical delegates, including Rick Ufford-Chase, the moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Rev. Nigel Robb, director of educational services for the Church of Scotland also attended. The service also highlighted “Christ is the World’s Redeemer,” a hymn written by John Ferguson and commissioned by Princeton Theological Seminary for the inauguration.
In 2001, Rev. Torrance was appointed a chaplain-in-ordinary to Her Majesty the Queen in Scotland. He has served as president of the Aberdeen Association of University Teachers and was convenor of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland’s Committee on Chaplains to the Forces (1998–2002). He is a member of the international dialogue between the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Orthodox Church. He was elected as moderator of the Church of Scotland in May 2003 and completed his term in May 2004. As moderator, he made a trip to Iraq, where he visited British and American troops, and also made a three-week official visit to China.
Born in Aberdeen in 1949, Rev. Torrance was educated at Edinburgh Academy and Monkton Combe School in Bath. He received the Master of Arts degree from the University of Edinburgh, the Bachelor of Divinity degree from St. Andrews University, and the Doctor of Philosophy degree from Oriel College, Oxford University.
A minister in the Church of Scotland, the mother church of the Presbyterian Church USA, Rev. Torrance served the parish of Northmavine in the Shetland Islands for three years prior to becoming lecturer in New Testament and patristics at Queen’s Theological College, Birmingham, in 1985. He then moved to the University of Aberdeen to his current position, and in 2001 was named Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Divinity.
During his 11 years at the University, Professor Torrance contributed immeasurably to the life of the University. In a farewell speech to colleagues before he left Aberdeen, Professor Torrance spoke of the ties that he hoped would continue to develop between Princeton and the Scottish universities.
Rev. Torrance is the author of Christology after Chalcedon and Ethics and the Military Community, co-editor of Human Genetics: A Christian Perspective and To Glorify God: Essays on Modern Reformed Liturgy, and editor of Bioethics for the New Millennium. He has contributed numerous articles and book reviews to theological journals.
He has served as a Territorial Army Chaplain (1982–1997) and Army Cadet Force Chaplain (1996–2000). He was awarded the Territorial Decoration (TD) by Her Majesty the Queen in 1997.
The Presbyterian Church USA has roots in Scotland. Scottish Reformer John Knox studied with John Calvin in Geneva in the 1560s and brought his reforms back to Scotland. By the end of the 16th century, the Protestant Church in Scotland was Presbyterian. In 1690 the Presbyterian Church became the national church of Scotland. Meanwhile, in 1683, clergyman Francis Makemie came to the colonies at the request of Scots and Irish colonists and established a Presbyterian church in Accomack County, Maryland, the first Presbyterian congregation in America. The first presbytery met in Philadelphia in 1706, and the same first- and second-generation Scots founded Princeton University (1746) and later Princeton Seminary (1812).
Rev. Torrance is married to Morag Ann (née MacHugh), who was Manager of the Information Technology Training Unit at the University of Aberdeen. They have a son, Hew, and a daughter, Robyn.
Princeton Seminary, with a student body of 785 and a faculty of 53, educates the largest number of candidates for the professional ministry in the Presbyterian Church USA, as well as students representing 90 other denominations in the United States and overseas.